Golf club



Feb. 2z,19z7.- -1,618,640

ls. W. DAwsoN l GOLF CLUB Filed June 1, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 2z, 1927'.

s. w. DAWSON GOLF CLUB Filed June 1, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 22, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,618,640 riaiurril OFFICE.

STERLING AV7. DAWSON, OF'CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GOLF CLUB.

Application filed' June. 1,

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a putter which, in a measure, will in-A sure that the golfer uses the club in the proper manner.

A. further object of the invention isto provide a putter with an improved striking head which is admirably suited for a club embodying the other features of improvement to which this invention relates.

In the accompanying drawings wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is an elevational view of my improved putter. Figure 2 is an elevational view of the upper end of the putter shaft and its sleevefthis view illustrating how the handle portion of the shaft is intended to be grasped by the left hand ot' a right-handed player. Figure 3 is an elevational View of the shaft and sleeve, showing the latter in one of its lowered positions. Figure 3A is a section taken on the line 3A- A of Figure- 3. Figure i is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of the putter shaft and its sleeve, looking directly toward one of the sleeve apertures. Figure 5 is a top plan view of the. club head, the shaft and lts socket appearing in section. Figure 6 is a frontelevational view Of the club head. Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view of the club head taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 5, and Figure 8 is a sectional view illustrating' a modiied arrangement whereby to provide the desired pin and slot connection between the putter shaft and its sleeve. i

Similar characters of reference referto similar parts throughout the several views.

The putter shown in the drawings comprises astriking head 10,and a shaft 11, which is received in a shaft socket 12, which is, or may be, formed integral with the head.

The head, which is preferably but not necessarily formed of castaluminum, preferv ably comprises a vertical striking face 13, and a flat horizontal upper surface 14. The striking face 13 preferably has no loft whatsoever, but in practice may be rough- 1926. Serial No. 112,779.

ened in any suitable manner, as by providing it with ridges and grooves, indentations, or the like. 'lhe rear surface -of the head, indicated at 15, is preferably a plane surface which is parallel to the striking face 13. lIhe sole, or under surface, of the striking head is rpreferably straight' from side to side, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 6, but is preferably curved convexly from front to rear, as is illustrated inl Figure 7, to minimize 'the likelihood of a shot being spoiled by reason of the engagement of either the front or rear lower edges of 'thehead with a worm cast or other' small object which may be encountered upon a green. The shaft socket .12 is preferably so disposed that the shaft 11, is at an angle of substantially 18 degrees from the vertical when the club head is presented to a ball with its upper surface 14 parallel to the surface of the green. I. prefer to provide the upper surface 1-i of the club head with a pair of lines 1G and 17, the line 1G being parallel to the plane of the strikin(T face 13, and the line 17 being` at right angles to the plane of such striking face. When the club head is formed of uncoated aluminum, the lines 16 and 17 are conveniently provided by forming small `grooves in the surface 14, which are filled with dark enamel or other suitable material which will retain its position and make the said lines distinct.

lfVhile ,I have ascertained from experienceb that best results can be secured when the striking head is constructed substantially as herein described, I do not limit myself to a'striking head of this character as the other features of my club, which I shall now describe, may be employed in V`putters having striking heads quite different from the one herein shown and described.

The shaft 11 is conveniently but notnec- ,essarily formed of wood and is provided at its upper end or handle portion with a longitudinal slot 18 which extends downwardly several inches from the upper end of the shaft. At a point somewhat below the lower end of the slot 18 the cross section of the handle portion of the shaft is considerably reduced by providing it with diametrically opposite depressions or cutouts which provide the elongated flat spots 19 and 20. The tlat spot 19 is preferably although not necessarily somewhat longer than the fiat spot 20, and has its upper end terminatin somewhat above the corre spondng end o? the fiat spot 20.

Mounted u on the handle portion of the putter shaft, or limited reciprocating movement thereon, is a sleeve 21 which is preferably in the form of a tube of aluminum, or any other suitable metal, but may be formed of a variety of materials, such as fibre, hard rubber, or the like.` The sleeve is provided with a pin or key 22 which rides in the shaft slot 18 to permit relative longitudinal movement between the sleeve and shaft, the said pin or key, however, eff-ectively preventing` relative rotary movement between the sleeve and the shaft.

If desired, the sleeve mayv be keyed to the shaft by striking inwardly projecting portions 22n from the metal of the sleeve for engagement in the slot 18, as is illustrated in Figure 8.

The club shaft is preferably provided at its upper end with a cap or fer-rule 23, which is held in position by any suitable means not shown. It will thus be observed that upward movement of the sleeve upon the shaft is limited by engagement of the sleeve with the cap or ferrule 28, while downward movement of the sleeve upon the shaft is limited by engagement of the key with the lower end of the shaft slot 1,8.

The sleeve is provided with a pair of apertures 24 and 25, the aperture 24 being' located opposite and being adapted to expose the shafts flat spot 19, the aperture 25 being located opposite and being adapted to expose the shafts fiat spot 20. The aperture 24 is preferably somewhat longer than the aperture 25, and has its upper end located somewhat above the upper end of the aperture 25, because, as wi l be 4more fully hereinafter explained, the aperture 24E is intended to receive both the thumb and foreiinger of the hand 'of a player, while the aperture 25 is merely intended to receive the second finger.A

The sleeve 21 is preferably somewhat loose upon the shaft, that is to say, it is preferably suliciently loose so that it is necessary for the player to grasp the club properly, as hereinafter explained, in order to retain the sleeve at any desired adjusted position upon the shaft.

Earlier. in this specification I alluded to a manner of gripping, of which I believe I am the originator, theproper use of which the club of the present invention is intended to' facilitate. Briefly stated, this manner of gripping the club is as follows:l

The player (assuming that he is a righthanded player) asps the shaft of the club between the fore nger and the-second finger of his left hand, with the thumb and the third and fourth fingers of such hand resting upon the handle portion of the shaft.

The hand should be so disposed that the shaft is substantially parallel with the medial longitudinal line of the wrist. This disposition of the left hand of the player upon the club is illustrated in the drawing. The manner of applying the right hand to the club is not particularly important so far as this specification is concerned. Suffice it to say that the right hand is placed upon the shaft below and adjacent to the left hand in a manner which seems natural to the player.

lI have found that when the shaft of a putter is gripped by a player in the manner just mentioned, excellent results can be sc- Cured, as is attested by the fact that some of the leading professional and amateur golfers have adopted this manner of gripping in their putting. One of the principal advantages of this style of gripping is the fact that it eliminates, or tends to eliminate, pronation of the left hand. There are other reasons why this manner of gripping, is desirable and effective, but since this invention is concerned with club construction, and not with the technique of the game, I shall not bother to mention them in this specification.

I have found that the type of putter shown in the accompanying drawings is greatly superior to the types of putters now in common use, when the new and improved manner of gripping herein brieflymentioned is employed. Inl-the first place, the handle portion of the ordinary putter is too thick to be comfortably grasped between the first two fingers of the hand, as is illustrated in Figure 2. Furthermore, it is desirable that the handle portion of the club be firmly grasped between the first two fingers of the hand. This cannot be easily or comfortably done when the surfaces engaged by such lingers are curved surfaces. By providing the shaft of my improved club with the depressedA flat spots 19 and 20, I am enabled to reduce the cross section of the shaft and at the same time increase the area of contact between the shaft and the lingers between which the shaft is grasped. A

The flat spots 19 and 20 are elongated and the sleeve2l is movable relative to the shaft because it is desirable that the left hand of the player rasp the shaft at different points along its ength in making putts of different length. Ordinarily, the player will grasp the shaft substantially as illustrated in Figure 2 when making a long putt and will place his same hand an inch. or more lower when making a very short putt. It will be understood that the sleeve may be Vmoved up or down to expose various portions of the flat spots 19 and 20, as determined by the length of putt about to be made.

The fact that the sleeve 21 is quite freely movable 'upon the club shaft requires that the player grasp both the flat spots 19 and 2O and the outer surface of the sleeve quite tightly in making a shot. As there is some tendency among players not to grasp the.

club firmly with the thumb and all of the fingers of the left hand, it will be understood that the presence of the loose sleeve tends to overcome this fault.

As is illustrated in the drawings, the longer of the sleeve notches 24 is adapted to expose the flat spot 19 for engagement by both the thumb and forefinger of the players hand, whereas the shorter of these aperturesv 25 exposes the flat spot 20 for engagement by' the second finger of the players hand.

Having thus illustrated` anddescribed a preferred embodiment of my invention, what I claim as new and desirable to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A golf putter comprising a shaft, a reciprocatlng sleeve on the handle part of said shaft, and an elongated fiat spot on said handle part, there being an opening in said Sleeve through which different portions ofV said flat spot may be exposed and touched by a finger of a 4hand grasping said sleeve.

2. A golf putter comprlsing a shaft, a reciprocatlng sleeve on the handle part of said shaft, a pin and slot connection between said sleeve and handle part preventing relative rot-ary movement while permitting relative longitudinal movement between said sleeve v and handle part, an elongated ila't spot on said handle part, and an aperture lin said sleeve adapted to expose different portions of said at spot.

3. A `golf putter comprising a shaft, a sleeve reciprocably mounted on the handle part of said shaft, said handle part having a portion thereof which isvreduced in cross section by forming oppositely located elongated flat spots on said handle part, said sleeve being provided with oppositely located apertures adapted to expose different portions of said fiat spots.

my name this 29th da of Ma part being reducedin cross section by forming oppositely located longitudinal flat spots thereon and aperturesformed in said sleeve to expose said fiat spots and to accommodate the ingers'of a player.

6. A golf putter provided with opposi'tely located fiat spots on its handle part and a sleeve reciprocably mounted on said handle part provided with apertures through which various portions of said fiat spots may be exposed. c.

7. A golf club comprising a shaft, a sleeve reciprocably mounted on said shaft, there being an aperture in the sleeve through whch'the shaft may be engaged by a nger of the hand grasping said sleeve.

8. A golf club comprising a shaft, a sleeve reciprocably mounted on said shaft, means permitting relative longitudinal movement between the shaft and sleeve and prevent-ing relative rotary movement between the same, there being an aperture in said sleeve through which the shaft may be engaged by a finger of the hand grasping said sleeve.

9. A. golf club comprising a shaft, a sleeve reciprocably mounted on said shaft and a pair of oppositely located aperturesin said sleeve through which the shaft maybe engaged by fingers of a hand grasplng said sleeve.

' In witness whereof, I hereuntol subscribe y 1926. y srs LING nAWsoN-- 

